Czcibor ( la, Cidebur; died after 972), a member of the Piast dynasty, was a Polan prince, son of Duke Siemomysł and younger brother of the first Christian ruler,

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

Life

According to E. Rymar (2005), Czcibor may have been a governor of the

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n lands after Mieszko I's conquest of that West Slavic tribes territory from around 967 AD. In medieval sources, he is mentioned but once in the chronicles by

Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...

, in relationship with Poland's victorious Battle of Cedynia against the forces of the Saxon margrave Odo I (''Hodo'') in 972 AD. He is thought to have been either the commander or one of the principal Polish leaders, along with his brother Mieszko, and Thietmar is the source of his presence at the battle. Czibor's presence at Cedynia might have been based not only on his status as war leader and brother of the Polish ruler, but also by his position as 'governor' of conquered/annexed Pomerania. His date of birth and death are unknown, his family: mother, wife or wives (he was most likely a pagan until 966 AD), and children are also unknown. In view of his name, his mother may have been of Sorbian (

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

n) origin.

Popular culture

Czcibor is known in the Polish popular culture, through books of

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish writer, publisher, historian, journalist, scholar, painter, and author who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews, which makes him the ...

, Zbigniew Nienacki and

Paweł Jasienica Paweł Jasienica was the pen name of Leon Lech Beynar (10 November 1909 – 19 August 1970), a Polish historian, journalist, essayist and soldier. During World War II, Jasienica (then, Leon Beynar) fought in the Polish Army, and later, the Ho ...

, and was one of the principal characters in a 1974 Polish feature film '' Gniazdo'' directed by Jan Rybkowski. In 1977 Polish comics book artist Grzegorz Rosiński drew a story, based on Moczulski's storyline, where Czcibor appeared along with his brother Mieszko, this 8 full-panel long story appeared in a Polish comics monthly magazine ''Relax'', volume 4. There are streets named after him in some Polish cities and towns, e.g. Łobez,

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

, Szczecin. At the site where, according to the research of archaeologist Władysław Filipowiak, the Battle of Cedynia most likely was fought, a hill is named ''Góra Czcibora'' ("Czcibor's Mountain"). A monument commemorating the victory was erected there in 1972, with a dedication in Polish and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, both mentioning Prince Czcibor.

Sources

* ''Kronika Thietmara'' (translation by Marian Z. Jedlicki), Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych UNIVERSITAS, Kraków, Poland, 2005; , pp. 32–33 * Jasiński, Kazimierz, ''Rodowód pierwszych Piastów'', Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk, Poznań, Poland, 2004; , p.71 *

, ''Polska Piastów'', Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warsaw, Poland, 1985; , p. 44 *

References

{{reflist Piast dynasty Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 10th-century Polish people History of Pomerania